Blogging

What is a blog?

At it's most basic, a blog is an online journal. Usually one writer makes regular postings and readers make comments. It's an easy (and free) way to make a web presence, and bloggers often group together into online communities that read each other's posts and comment on them.

Take a look at this 3 minute video called Blogs in Plain English at http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs

What blogging does for students

• Helps them find their voice
• Creates enthusiasm for writing and communications
• Engages students in conversation and learning
• Provides an opportunity to teach about responsible journalism
• Empowers students with a worldwide audience

LINK: An overview of educational blogging
ONLINE MAGAZINE: EduBlog Magazine

Ways to use blogging in the classroom

• Professional Communication
  Beth's Thoughts on Educational Blogging • Weblog-ed (a blog about Web 2.0 tools from THE guru of blogging, Will Richardson) • The Never-Ending Search (School Library guru)

• Teacher Communication (with parents and students)
  Amy Stenson's Blog (OGM) • Mrs. Kochel's OMS Book Blog • Blog Write (a teacher's instructions to students with links to student blogs) • Write On (Mr. Monson in Duluth communicates with parents)

• Blogs as a discussion tool (either the teacher posts and students make comments, or students are allowed to post and comment)
  English 7B Blog (from an International School in China) • Hamlet Character blogs • Collaboration Nation (8th grade team in CT with individual student blogs) • Presidential Election 2008 blog from Jefferson HS (students respond to posts)

• Blogs as a publication tool
  Student Poetry • Current Events Blog from Kennedy HS (students do the blogging)

Directories of Educational Blogs
Samples from Bloomington Teachers (mainly from the 2007-2008 school year)
Will Richardson's Links to Educational Blogs
Find samples of blogging in education here (scroll down the left column to find many categorized blogs)
Edublogger Awards ("The Eddies")


Ideas for Classroom Use

• Reflection on readings
• Analysis of Current Events
• Role playing a character from history or a novel
• Creating an online portfolio
• Sharing resources
• Reporting on school news
• Tracking the progress of a science experiment

Educational Blogging: Articles and Resources

Blogging Services
Blogger
Edublogs
LiveJournal
Gaggle (a student e-mail service that includes a blogging feature)
Typepad (a pay service)

Question: How do I search the Internet to find content in blogs?
Answer: Use a specialized search engine
Technorati
Google Blog Search

Question: How do I keep track of all the blogs I read????
Answer: Use an Aggregator
Bloglines
Google Reader